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Halo PC
'Halo PC 'refers to the ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''designed for PC and Mac. ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''was originally intended for Mac, but later changed to the new Xbox hardware when Microsoft purchased Bungie. However, the idea for a PC release was revived by Gearbox Software, and they ported ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''to PC (and later Mac with ''Halo Mac, which was done by Westlake Interactive) while adding new features as well. A demo version was launched before release to give PC users a taste of the material to come. The game demos and videos that were present in the Xbox version were removed in Halo PC, and it officially launched on September 30, 2003; two years after Halo: Combat Evolved ''originally came out. Features that are different from the Xbox Version Campaign Nothing at all was changed about the campaign aside from co-operative play being removed. On the Xbox version, up to four players could play campaign together in splitscreen. In ''Halo PC, this feature has been removed, and now only one person can play campaign at any given time, even over online. Multiplayer Due to the PC/Mac's inability to support splitscreen play, splitscreen multiplayer has also been removed as a feature, although LAN will still work. However, Halo PC ''has many new features that the Xbox system lacked, whether due to system/time limitations, or the fact the ideas didn't exist at the time or the technology was unavailable. One of these new features was 'Safe Mode,' allowing the player to lower the graphics setting to its most basic form to allow the game to run on low-end computers. However, this mode wasn't required for Xbox, as the game was designed with its graphics card in mind, and it doesn't slow down because of that, as the two pieces of hardware run 'symbiotically.' The game comes with all the old maps, including brand new ones exclusive to this version of the game. They are: Death Island, Danger Canyon, Infinity, Timberland, Ice Field and Gephyrophobia. It also adds the Fuel Rod Gun to multiplayer, which is present but unusable in the campaign due to its self-destruct feature, and wasn't present in the Xbox version of multiplayer. It also adds the Flamethrower to the multiplayer, which was originally a weapon cut from the game, but was readded just for use in multiplayer on ''Halo PC. It also adds the Banshee to multiplayer, which was not present in the Xbox's version of multiplayer, as well as a new vehicle called the Rocket Warthog. Also, in'' Halo PC'', the multiplayer is fully outfitted into the game, with working servers maintained by GameSpy Arcade. This is marks the first time Halo: Combat Evolved ''could be played online, as Xbox Live did not exist when ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''was released, meaning it had no multiplayer. This was rectified in ''Halo PC. ''A year later, the game was also supplemented by the Bungie-approved ''Halo: Custom Edition, a modding tool that came with the entire developer's kit, allowing people to manipulate the game and create their own vehicles, weapons, campaign levels and maps. This made it so that Halo PC ''was one of the most popular shooters in the era, all the way until the release of ''Halo 2. '' Reception ''Halo PC ''received mixed reviews by critics, earning itself a score of 83% on Metacritic. Gamespot stated that it was "still an incredible action game...and a true classic," awarding it a 9 out of 10. It received a score of 8.2 out of 10 from IGN, who stated, "if you've played the game on Xbox, there's not much more for you here." Eurogamer called the game a 'missed opportunity,' but stated that the online multiplayer component was "a massive draw...for Halo fans." System Requirements Windows Requirements *'Microsoft Windows 98SE and up''' *'PC with 733 MHz equivalent or higher processor' *'128 MB of system RAM' *'1.3 GB available hard drive space' *'8x speed or faster CD-ROM drive' *'32 MB T&L capable video card (RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED. HOWEVER, IT IS REQUIRED FOR SOME EFFECTS TO BE SEEN, SUCH AS THE COLOR ON YOUR ARMOR AND THE POWER METER ON COVENANT WEAPONS)' *'Sound card, speakers or headphones required for audio' *'Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device' *'56.6 Kbps or better modem or LAN for online play' *'Broadband to run server' *'Keyboard (type is irrelevant)' Mac Requirements *'Mac OS X 10.2.8 or higher' *'PC with 800 MHz G4/G5 or faster processor' *'256MB of RAM' *'32MB Video Card (GeForce 2MX/ATI 7500 or better)' *'1.4GB of hard drive space' *'Internet or LAN connection required for online play' Recommended *'1GHz G4/G5 or faster processor' *'Mac OS X 10.3 or higher' *'512MB of RAM' *'64MB Video Card (GeForce 4ti-ATI 9000 or better)' : Note: ''Halo will run normally on Intel-based Macs. However, due to having to run in the Rosetta PPC emulator, there is an impact on performance. For this reason, MacSoft/Destineer has released a Universal binary update. The update is $5 and available from the developer's website. Trivia *There are a few subtle graphical changes made that weren't present in the Xbox version. One of these involves Jackal shields: for some reason, the different shields colors for Minors and Majors are absent, and do not change color as they get damaged (which were likely problems with that the bitmaps and animations weren't loaded, from a release perspective). Stationary shields also have a different appearance, the reflection on some weapons reduces their strength, and Shades are changed visually as well. *''Halo: Combat Evolved was originally meant for Mac in the first place. But the rise of Xbox and Bungie's acquisition by Microsoft made it so that it released on Xbox instead, prompting the creation of Halo PC ''as a port. *As of Patch 1.08, the game can now be played without the disk. *The product key for ''Halo PC ''can unlock a nameplate for your Spartan in ''Halo Reach. '' *The Double Vehicle Driving Glitch is a glitch that is exclusive to ''Halo PC. ''It cannot be done on the Xbox version. *The Microsoft Game Studios logo is featured on the front cover. This is not present on the Xbox version, which only had Bungie's logo. *GameSpy, the service which provides and maintains ''Halo PC's multiplayer servers, shut down on May 31, 2014. Players are no longer able to browse for multiplayer matches, but LAN and Direct IP are still functional. **On April 28, 2014, GameRanger announced that it will support Halo PC's multiplayer servers, taking over from the now defunct GameSpy Arcade. ***Bungie released Patch 1.10 for ''Halo PC ''on May 14, 2014. The update moves GameSpy services to use a new, non-GameSpy server and also fixes various other issues simultaneously. Gallery 1206148195_Halo_scrn2.jpg|A multiplayer game of CTF on Death Island Halo_PC_shortcut_icon.PNG|The icon for Halo PC that appears on the desktop Halo-Pc.jpg|The full box art for Halo PC M7057Flamethrower.jpg|The Flamethrower in action on Blood Gulch Timberland_multiplayer_map.jpg|Long shot of Timberland Links Internal Links *Halo: Combat Evolved External Links *Halo PC in the Microsoft Store References